The family of a young man who died while "train surfing" atop a moving BART subway train has sued Bay Area Rapid Transit District, claiming the taxpayer-funded mass transit agency should pay up because they haven't installed technology to prevent "train surfers" from endangering themselves and potentially being killed in the process.
On Feb. 5, Marina and Alexander Baran filed suit in San Francisco County Superior Court against BART.
The Barans are representing themselves in the action.
In the lawsuit, the Barans assert BART should be made to pay over the death of their son, 19-year-old Daniel Baran, who died in January 2024 while riding on the roof of a moving BART train.
According to the complaint, Baran was riding on a BART train bound for Glen Park Station in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2024, when he allegedly climbed up on the exterior roof of the train.
According to the complaint, he allegedly climbed atop the roof using the rubber spacers placed between train cars.
According to a story published about Baran's death in February 2024, "train surfing" has increasingly become a problem in cities, like New York and San Francisco, with urban rail transit and subways, in particular. The activity reportedly has become particularly popular among young men seeking to gain fame on Instagram and other social media.
According to the article published by ABC7 News in San Francisco, Baran's mother told reporters at the time her son had been inspired to do so by social media.
The new lawsuit from the Barans does not reference any concerns about social media or any desire by their son to achieve notoriety on social media by attempting the dangerous stunt.
According to the complaint, the Barans assert BART didn't do enough to prevent passengers, like Daniel Baran, from climbing on the spacers.
"The spacers allowed and encouraged riders to contact the train's exterior, and to climb to the top of BART trains, a practice called 'train surfing,'" the lawsuit asserts.
The lawsuit claims BART and its train conductors and other BART personnel "should have known about train surfing, and that riders used the spacers to climb to the tops of BART trains."
Further, the Barans assert BART is at fault because it did not install sensors, cameras or monitors to either automatically slow or stop the train in the event someone like their son climbs on the roof, or to alert train operators that someone has climbed on the outside of the train.
The lawsuit asks the court to order BART to pay unspecified money damages, including general damages and special damages.
The lawsuit levels claims of wrongful death and "dangerous condition of public property," as well as negligence and strict products liability, among others.
According to a 2024 financial report prepared by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, BART received $435 million in local sales and property taxes, $270 million in federal "emergency aid," and $66 million in state funds. It took in $298 million in passenger fares, parking fees and other local revenue, such as advertising.
In all, BART took in $1.13 billion in 2024, according to the MTC.